BOO’S BLOG FOR CAMP!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Dearest Pony Farmers… Past, Present and Future,

What a thrill for me to be in touch with YOU!!!! It is my great hope that you will enjoy seeing the Pony Farm web site develop and enjoy reading my tales of the farm. It is my hope to keep this blog going so that you will know what is happening at the farm all year long and feel a part of the ‘farm family’ of horses, ponies, farm animals, and people, of course! I will write every couple of weeks to announce upcoming weekends, specialty vacation camps and other events of note. Mostly, we want to have you feel connected to Pony Farm!!! It is also my hope that you will write back to me at my email and tell me your news. My email is boomcdaniel@ponyfarm.com . I am eager to hear from you!

As I write this, my first Pony Farm blog ever, I am feeling particularly excited about Pony Farm and summer camp 2008. We have been working hard on getting the right text and the best pictures for our new web site and camp brochure. Pouring over the thousands of pictures we have and seeing everyone’s smiling faces make me truly wish summer camp was starting tomorrow! The pictures remind me of all the fun we have at camp. I loved choosing pictures of lessons, trail rides, driving, vaulting, swimming with the horses, all day rides and drives, camping trips with the ponies (even if it was on the front lawn due to rain!), horse shows, Hunter Paces and Gymkhana games… not to mention the night time activities and silly fun. I love it all. Mostly, I love being with you….campers, staff and families. What a great way to spend my life!

This holiday season I have felt especially fortunate to have been a camp director for the last 36 years. I have had the great pleasure of seeing or hearing from so many current and former campers, as well as getting lots of emails from new campers. Many of my favorites from past years have come to visit or have written long letters in their Holiday greetings to update me on how their own kids are doing. What a thrill in this fast moving, ever changing world to stay connected to a person from her childhood to being able to get to know her children!!! I think this is a rare and precious gift indeed! Thank you to all of you who have been in touch. Whether you were here 36 years ago or are just getting to know the farm, I truly wish you well and hope that you will not be a stranger here at Pony Farm in 2008.

We just finished celebrating Kris Young’s birthday today. What a gift she has been to the life of the farm in general, and to summer camp in specific. She certainly shares my passion for kids and horses, especially summer camp. Together, with the rest of the staff, we are gearing up for our PONY FARM SUMMER CAMP OPEN HOUSE THIS SUNDAY JANUARY 6TH FROM 1 TO 4pm. Jessy, Heather, Corey, Kathy, Kelly and Deb will all be with us to greet new campers. We also have several campers from last summer who will be serving as Tour Guides. We welcome any of you who have been with us before to join us as we want everyone who loves horses to know just how great Pony Farm is!!!! If you were with us last summer, bring your best friend. If you know of a cousin or best buddy from the barn who loves horses and might want to come to the open house, let them know. If YOU are curious about what camp is like and have never been here before, join us for sure. The more, the merrier!

We are excited to be offering that one week session in June so that littler kids or those who have never been away before can get their ‘feet wet’ at Pony Farm without having to be away from home for two weeks. We have gotten lots of interest in that session. We are currently accepting registrations from both former campers and new campers. We are excited to see the amount of interest we are receiving for camp in general. It looks like it is going to be a banner year. Thank you for spreading the word about Pony Farm!!!

The ponies and horses are all doing very well. Luckily, it has not been too cold. They love being out and romping around with each other in the fluffy snow. The farm looks like an old fashioned holiday card with the snow on the trees and the animals contentedly munching on hay. They are having a good rest before lessons start up again.
Wait until you see them in their winter fur. It is hard to remember what they look like all shed out and ready for a horse show!

I guess it is time to say goodbye for now. I hope you will enjoy our new web site and visit it many times as it develops. We want to add in any pictures, poems or remembrances from your time at the farm. Just send them along to me in an email. We are having such fun developing the web site and want you to feel part of it all.

Until then, be well and enjoy your horses and each other. I can’t wait to see you in the New Year. Whether you are coming for the first time, joining us for a specialty weekend, bringing your best friend or sharing your daughter with us, you will be welcome. We love all that Pony Farm stands for and want to share our love of horses and the farm itself with you and your family.

Warmly,


Isabella (Boo) McDaniel, M.Ed.
Founder and Exec. Director of Pony Farm
CHA and NARHA Master Instructor

PS….Look for more details on February Vacation Camp, as well as Adult Specialty Riding & Driving Weekends….We have lots of exciting things in the works!!!